The Denver Broncos won Saturday’s preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers 30-9 behind four forced takeaways by the defense, and five scoring drives by the offense.

Even with the win, there was rust from the starters on offense, but some promising flashes from Denver’s younger players.

Denver Broncos blast 49ers in preseason opener

Jarrett Stidham operated the Broncos second-team offensive unit with efficiency, going 14-of-15 passing for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Stidham’s connection with Trent Sherfield helped the Broncos climb out of an early 9-0 deficit, ultimately leading to Sam Ehlinger taking over in the fourth quarter and helping the offense put this one to bed.

Denver’s starting offense was sluggish in their limited action, while Nik Bonitto made his case to get paid sooner rather than later, and the running back competition heated up with some impressive looks from several players with just two games remaining before roster cuts.

Broncos starting offense sluggish in preseason debut

In a game where Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos starting offense got their first game reps of the preseason, it wasn’t a polished operation against the second-team defense of the San Francisco 49ers.

Their first drive was a seven-play 26-yard drive that resulted in a punt. Denver’s second offensive series resulted in a safety after Nix was called for intentional grounding, trying to avoid getting sacked by a 49ers blitzing nickel defender.

The starter’s final series saw Nix and the offense put together a nine-play 26-yard drive that ended with a Wil Lutz field goal, ending the night for Denver’s first-team unit.

Overall, Nix had a nice throw on the first series to Courtland Sutton that the veteran receiver couldn’t haul in all the way, but also had two underthrown passes on a downfield throw to Troy Franklin coming across the middle of the field and one to Sutton in the end zone on the team’s final series.

It wasn’t the cleanest operation from the offense, which had several missed opportunities in its 18 total plays on Saturday, but it’s a clear indicator of why Sean Payton wants to play his starters in the preseason. These on-field reps can be useful to hopefully get some of the rust out of the way before the regular season approaches, with Denver hoping to get off to a faster start.

RJ Harvey and Franklin were notable bright spots with what we saw from the first-team offense. Harvey’s vision and explosiveness were on display, showcasing the ability to stick his foot in the ground and cut inside quickly. He finished his first NFL action with seven carries for 25 yards.

Franklin hauled in two catches from Nix for 18 yards, including a first-down catch on fourth down to keep the drive alive.

Pay Nik Bonitto now

Nik Bonitto’s night ended on a productive note on the Broncos’ second defensive series of the game. On the first play of the second series, Bonitto exploded off the edge and beat the left tackle for a sack on Mac Jones, following that play up with another sack of Jones on the very next play.

On the third play, Bonitto nearly had Jones for a third consecutive sack, forcing him to pivot away backwards about 20 yards before Jones heaved the ball out of bounds. The Broncos’ emerging star pass rusher made a strong case for himself to get paid, because that relentless motor and energy will drive that price tag up if he plays the same way in the first few weeks of the regular season.

Bonitto finished the game with a quick two tackles and an official 1.5 sack, splitting his second sack of Jones with John Franklin-Myers.

Time is ticking.

Running back competition heats up

It’s clear as day that RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins are the Denver Broncos top two rushers for Sean Payton, which opens the door for widespread competition for Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, Blake Watson, and Audric Estime.

After Dobbins and Harvey exited the night with their reps, Badie and McLaughlin were the next two up, both ripping off good runs. McLaughlin had a 15+ yard run called back due to a holding call on rookie wide receiver Pat Bryant.

Audric Estime’s first carry of the night went for three yards, but he managed to rattle off a few big runs as the game progressed, including a nice 20-yard catch and run, breaking through contact by 49ers defenders.

Blake Watson was up next in the rotation, with his first carry going for 18 yards, followed by a 16-yard catch and run. He ended up having the most impressive body of work on the evening.

Here is how the Broncos’ rushers finished their evenings.

  • RJ Harvey: 7 carries, 25 yards. 1 catch, four yards.
  • J.K. Dobbins: 1 catch, four yards.
  • Tyler Badie: 5 carries, 32 yards. 2 catches, nine yards.
  • Jaleel McLaughlin: 3 carries, five yards. 1 catch, five yards.
  • Blake Watson: 4 carries, 28 yards. 3 catches, 21 yards.
  • Audric Estime: 9 carries, 24 yards. 1 catch, 20 yards.

Broncos news and notes

  • Players who did not play in Saturday’s game: TE/FB Nate Adkins, LB Alex Singleton, LB Dre Greenlaw, LB Drew Sanders, CB Reese Taylor, DL Matt Henningsen.
  • After not participating in Thursday’s joint practice against the 49ers, safety Brandon Jones dressed and played tonight.
  • Undrafted free agent wide receiver Courtney Jackson had a 25-yard punt return in the second quarter.
  • Undrafted linebacker Karene Reid snagged an interception in the second quarter.
  • Tight end Lucas Krull caught a touchdown pass from Jarrett Stidham near the end of the second quarter.
  • Veteran wide receiver Trent Sherfield Sr. caught a beautiful 36-yard touchdown pass from Stidham with 26 seconds left in the first half.
  • The Broncos’ offense was 6-for-15 on third down, while the defense held San Francisco to 1-for-12.
  • Denver finished the game with 11 penalties for 87 yards, which is a trend they’ll want to buck before the regular season.
  • Cornerbacks Ja’Quan McMillian and Joshua Pickett each snagged interceptions in Saturday’s win.